Do you worry about something bad happening, making a mistake, the next earthquake, and more? Have you felt like you are just worrying 24/7? Worrying is a normal part of life, but when we start worrying about everything, worrying all the time, it can be unhelpful.

People who tend to be worriers can feel like their brains are constantly tuned to the worry radio station like it’s just worry, worry, worry nonstop. It can feel like you’re worrying all the time.

Worrying can be frustrating, distressing, and exhausting. If you’re constantly worrying, concentrating and focusing on other things can be hard. Worry can interfere with work, school, and relationships. It can make it hard to fall asleep at night and can impact how you feel physically too.

Although worrying may help you feel better in the moment, most people don’t like worrying about everything. You’ve probably had friends or family members tell you to stop worrying. Maybe you’ve even told yourself to stop worrying. But did it work?

Honestly, probably not. Simply telling yourself to stop worrying or pushing thoughts aside could bring temporary relief. But if you’re used to worrying about everything, worrying all the time, those worries will likely return. So how do you stop worrying about everything?

In this article, we’ll teach you how to manage your worry. You’ll learn more about why you’re worrying about everything, techniques to manage worry, and how to get relief from worrying all the time.

Is it bad to worry about everything?

Worry is a normal part of life. Everyone worries from time to time about things like grades in school, work deadlines, money, being late, and more. But if you’re worrying about everything, worry can become overwhelming. It can impact your sleep, your concentration, and how you feel. Too much worry could indicate that you’re experiencing a mental health concern called generalized anxiety disorder.

Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive worry, multiple worries, and difficulty controlling worry, with worry and anxiety occurring most days for 6 months or more. According to the National Institute of Mental Health generalized anxiety disorder is pretty common, with about 2.7% of adults experiencing it in the last year.

People can worry about all kinds of things. If you worry a lot, you may notice patterns in the things you worry about the most. Common themes in worriers include:

Something bad happening
Natural disasters (like earthquakes and fires)
Uncertainty
Things you can’t control
Dirt, germs, and illness
Not knowing or the unknown
The future
Someone you care about getting hurt
Making a mistake
Worry about worrying

When things are out of your control, that could be a trigger for you to start worrying. Many people worry about a lot of different things. It can even feel like you’re constantly worrying about everything.

If you’re concerned about your worrying, therapy can help. A mental health therapist can evaluate if you have generalized anxiety disorder and recommend treatments. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven to help with worry and anxiety. A mental health therapist who specializes in CBT can help you learn to manage worry and bring you relief. Learn more about how I use CBT to help people with worry and anxiety here.

Why do I worry about everything?

Although worry may be significantly impacting your daily life, in some ways it makes sense to you. Worrying is one way people think they can avoid the worst-case scenario from happening. It’s common for a worrier to think that worrying helps them in some way. Here are some ways that worriers think worry is helping:

You believe that worrying helps you problem-solve.
Worry gives you the illusion of control.
You feel that worrying makes you responsible.
Worry motivates you.
You don’t feel anxious when you’re worried.

But is it truly helping to worry about everything? Most worriers get stuck in the cycle of worrying because they have false beliefs about worry. You may think that worrying can prevent bad things from happening. However, worrying about everything will probably just make you feel stuck. Spending all your time worrying will likely lead to inaction and avoidance. This will leave you missing out on life due to worry.

How to stop worrying about everything

Always worrying about everything can be upsetting, frustrating, and distressing. Worry can have an impact on your concentration, focus, sleep, and energy levels. It can even make it hard to function at work or school.

Since worry is a normal part of life, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to stop worry altogether. But you can learn how to manage worry. Start to get relief from worrying about everything by trying these techniques.

Start a worry diary

Worries often repeat in our heads on a cycle. You may be plagued by “What if?” thoughts the majority of the time. One way to decrease the intensity of the worry is to journal. Writing down your worry thoughts on a piece of paper can help. When we write out our worries, we can get a break from thinking about them on repeat. Worries can seem less likely to come true when we write them on paper and get them out of our heads. Try writing out your worries today.

Schedule a time to worry

It might sound counterintuitive, but scheduling a time to worry every day can help. If you’re noticing that you are worrying about everything all the time, this might be the right strategy for you.

Worry can be hard to manage, it can interfere with concentration and focus and can make it hard to fall asleep at night. To reduce the amount of time you’re spending worrying every day, take these steps to schedule a time to worry every day.

Step 1: Start by finding an hour in your day, preferably at the same time every day.
Step 2: Then schedule it by putting it in your calendar.
Step 3: Set a timer for an hour.
Step 4: During your worry time, just worry.
Step 5: When the hour is up stop worrying.
Step 6: If you start to have worry thoughts after your worry time, write the worry down.
Step 7: If that same worry thought comes up again, talk back to the worry. Tell the worry “I wrote this down already. I’ll worry about this tomorrow during my worry time. I don’t need to focus on this right now.”

Scheduling a time to worry every day works. Instead of telling yourself to “Stop worrying” (which we know doesn’t work well) you’re allowing yourself to worry. In scheduling your worry time, and not worrying in between, you’re shrinking your worry from 24/7 to 1 hour per day.

Calm down your worry with relaxation

Practicing relaxation and deep breathing can help calm worries. Stress and anxiety can be a trigger for worrying about anything and everything for some people. According to Harvard, activating the “relaxation response” in our bodies can help calm stress and anxiety. Types of relaxation strategies include

Breathing: Breathing exercises usually involve taking long, slow, deep breaths. This is also known as diaphragmatic or belly breathing.
Guided imagery: Also called visualization, guided imagery involves imagining calming places, experiences, scenes, or scenarios that will produce a sense of calmness in the body.
Meditation: This strategy involves finding a comfortable position (usually sitting) and focusing on your breath, with your attention on the present moment.
Progressive relaxation: Also called progressive muscle relaxation, this strategy involves tensing individual muscle groups in your body and then releasing the tension, one at a time.

If worrying about everything is keeping you up at night or interfering with work or school, try these strategies to get some relief. Worry can be persistent and pervasive. Simply telling yourself to stop worrying, doesn’t usually help. So it’s a good idea to try a few different things to see what works for you.

Sometimes worrying too much about everything is hard to manage on your own. If you’ve tried to combat worry on your own and haven’t gotten relief, therapy can help. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven to help with worry and anxiety. A mental health therapist who specializes in CBT can help you learn to manage worry and bring you relief. Learn more about how I use CBT for worry and anxiety here.

Summary

Do you worry about everything? While worrying is a normal part of life, it becomes problematic when it dominates your thoughts. Constant worry can be frustrating, distressing, and exhausting, impacting your ability to concentrate, sleep, and maintain healthy relationships. Although worrying might feel helpful in the moment, it often doesn’t lead to long-term relief.

Many people believe that worrying helps them problem-solve, stay responsible, or remain in control, but these beliefs often trap them in a cycle of anxiety. To manage excessive worry, several techniques can be effective. Keeping a worry diary allows you to externalize and evaluate your worries, reducing their power. Scheduling a daily worry time helps contain worry to a specific period, freeing up the rest of the day. Practicing relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, guided imagery, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation, can calm your mind and reduce anxiety.

If worrying about everything is overwhelming, therapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can provide significant relief. CBT helps reframe negative thought patterns and develop coping strategies. Working with a mental health therapist who specializes in CBT for anxiety and worry can help you manage and reduce your worries, bring you relief today.

How to Stop Worrying About Everything in 2024